Guanacaste

Guanacaste is a land of golden beaches, sun-drenched coastline and tropical dry forest – an escape to traditional Costa Rica, where cowboys still ride over open plains and acres roll by without a building in sight. And while the province’s colorful dancers, pristine beaches and secluded national parks get all the glory, there’s something else that makes Guanacaste a mecca for travelers: convenience.

Guanacaste is an excellent home base for explorations throughout northwestern Costa Rica, from the tranquil Bay of Papagayo to the canals of Palo Verde and inland toward the imposing Rincón del La Vieja Volcano. From any point throughout Guanacaste, you have easy access to nature, leisure, and the beautiful Pacific.

Book a surfing lesson or earn your PADI diving certification. Strap in for inshore or deep-sea sportfishing fun, and reel in hard fighting marlin, roosterfish, and sailfish. Book one of the region’s exhilarating canopy zipline tours, and fly through tropical dry forest, zig-zag over a river canyon, or zoom by the picturesque Pacific. Hop a boat tour through Palo Verde National Park, one of Costa Rica’s best birdwatching destinations. Board an ATV to explore Guanacaste’s backroads – and there are many! Or, chill out on a catamaran tour – a morning, afternoon or evening cruise to snorkeling bays, photo ops, and incredible sunsets that paint the horizon in brilliant shades of red, orange, purple and pink.

Like their name suggests, combo tours combine some of Guanacaste’s best activities, like horseback riding and canopy tours, volcanic hot springs and forest hikes. And since the fun should never end, adventure connections in and out of Guanacaste are also available: don’t spend your hours traveling, when you could be white-water rafting to Arenal, Monteverde, or San José!